Finally, there could be light at the end of the tunnel for long-suffering Zimbabweans, after it emerged yesterday that President Emmerson Mnangagwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa are indirectly engaging each other in talks aimed at ending the country’s decades-long political and economic crisis.

The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has been trying to bring Mnangagwa and Chamisa, who were the main contenders in the July 30 poll, to the negotiating table, but despite both of them insisting they were ready to dialogue, they had managed to remain far apart.

Chamisa has rejected Mnangagwa’s victory despite the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) throwing out his petition challenging the result and has since maintained that he won the election, frequently calling his rival “illegitimate”.

Mnangagwa has reportedly offered an olive branch to his nemesis, saying he has “a vital role to perform in Zimbabwe’s future” and proposed an official Westminster style “Leader of Opposition” post in Parliament for his rival to be part of the national discourse, but insists that Chamisa must recognise his Presidency.

More to follow…